This invention relates generally to signs and banners and, more particularly, to a system and method for tautly mounting a sign or banner such as a flexible material sign or banner to a structure. The invention is particularly applicable to a billboard type of structure in that it allows a flexible material display, such as a large vinyl sheet having printed advertising or other information thereon, to be tautly mounted to a billboard structure or frame, while alternately allowing a pasted or painted sign to be applied to the billboard structure or frame and be viewed thereon when the flexible material display is not in use. It will be appreciated, however, that the invention may be adapted to effective use in other environments and applications.
Techniques for securing or adding large display advertisements and messages to billboard structures or frames are well known. Billboard structures can include conventional free-standing billboards, such as those often found along a roadside or on the roof of a building; sides of buildings, often large areas without windows or many architectural features; side walls of conventional tractor trailers; and the like. Often, the billboard structure includes a plurality of substantially planar panels mounted adjacent one another to form a large, flat area to accommodate the advertisement or message.
One known method of adding a large display advertisement to a billboard structure is to paint an advertisement image directly on the panels of the billboard structure. This often requires the use of an artist to perform the painting for each billboard structure which undesirably increases the cost of billboard advertising. Another known method, widely in use today, is to paste preprinted signs over the panels of the billboard structure. While this approach eliminates the need for an artist to craft each advertising image for each billboard, pasting suffers several of its own drawbacks.
In particular, pasted signs are often difficult to remove and replace as they require the old sign to be pasted over, painted over, or scraped off prior to the application of a new pasted sign. The signs are often large and high off the ground which makes these tasks rather cumbersome and a skilled laborer is often required for properly pasting the sign to the billboard structure. Further, pasted signs are vulnerable to peeling and deterioration, particularly if they frequently encounter inclement weather. Like painting, these problems undesirably increase the cost of billboard or banner type advertising.
More recently, flexible material signs or displays, often constructed of vinyl, are being used on billboard or other structures capable of carrying a flexible sign. These signs are generally lightweight and relatively inexpensive to manufacture. A variety of methods are known for mounting these types of signs to billboard structures. One such method is to wrap the flexible material sign around a show surface of the billboard structure and tie opposing edges of the sign together using cord material or the like. Another method is to install elongated members or rods through hemmed edges formed in the sign and secure the elongated members to a billboard structure via cord or some other mounting device. While these methods achieve inexpensive installation costs, they often result in flexible material signs that are unsightly because the cords or other connecting devices mounting the signs remain largely exposed and/or the signs themselves do not remain taut.
In response to advertisers and billboard owners who desire a more professional appearance, numerous mounting devices have been proposed for mounting flexible material signs to billboard structures. For example, mounting devices for securing flexible material signs are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,754,566 issued on Jul. 5, 1988 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,088,942 issued on Jul. 18, 2000. While these types of mounting devices may result in a more professional appearance, they are often overly elaborate and expensive to manufacture, install and use. Accordingly, there is a need for an effective mounting system and method for securing flexible material signs to billboard structures while balancing the competing desires of advertisers in the appearance and cost of the mounting system and method.